Optical systems such as vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) optical packages and optical interconnect systems, which use semiconductor lasers and holographic optical elements, are sensitive to temperature variations. It has been realized that the wavelength of the light beam generated by the semiconductor lasers varies due to temperature variations, thereby adversely affecting the automatic power control mechanism/feedback operation of the VCSEL optical packages and the signal transfer characteristics of the optical interconnect systems. It has also been realized that a temperature change, for instance, of 5 degrees Centigrade, in the range of 25 to 30 degrees Centigrade results in a large thermal expansion of the holographic optical elements such as the DuPont OmniDex photopolymer. This thermal expansion produces an adverse change in the diffraction efficiency of the holographic optical element (HOE). For example, in a HOE with a thickness of 20 microns having a single 18 nanometers (nm) bandwidth, a 5 degrees Centigrade temperature variation results in a wavelength shift of approximately 2 nanometers (nm) in the bandwidth of the HOE.
Thus, there is a need for enhancing the temperature stability of the optical systems due to changes in the wavelength of the light beam generated by the semiconductor lasers and the shifts in the bandwidth of the holographic optical elements caused by temperature variations.